


Shaken

by zennie



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 19:38:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9673088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zennie/pseuds/zennie
Summary: Missing scene from 2x08. After the attack on the alien bar, Maggie has to work the crime scene.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This has some resonance with the terror attack on the Pulse nightclub. No graphic depictions, but could be triggering.

Her hands were shaking. The pen rattled against the clipboard, and Maggie squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to settle herself before anyone saw. Her co-workers knew she worked the alien beat, but they didn’t know about her. About this place. About her safe space. About standing amid the bodies of dead friends.  
  
The LED work lights were bright, too bright and blinding, and shadows from police and crime techs played against the walls like surreal ghosts. Maggie opened her eyes, and the room seemed to spin. A feeling of vertigo washed over her, and for a second, she had the real fear she would crumple to her knees, right there in the middle of the crime scene.    
  
Maggie felt a presence beside her, and she hoped it wasn’t Wilkins. She couldn’t take his particular brand of cruelty today, his contempt for the aliens they were supposed to serve and protect, his open loathing of women on the force, and his hostility toward Maggie in particular.  
  
Long fingers brushed hers as the clipboard was taken from her hand, then the pen, the touch gentle and warm. Letting out a shaky breath, Maggie glanced to her left, into Alex’s dark eyes, and the concern and understanding in those depths stopped the slow, sickening spin twisting her guts.  
  
It took all of Maggie’s strength not to collapse into Alex’s arms. There had been DEO agents there earlier, keeping the area quarantined until they determined the air was not harmful, at least not for humans. Maggie had tried to catch sight of Alex’s eyes peering out from under the hood of a hazmat suit, but if she had been there, Maggie hadn’t seen her. It hit Maggie hard, as she gazed at Alex, how much she had been wishing for the other woman’s presence.  
  
“It will go faster if I take your notes,” Alex said, loud enough for the CSIs to hear as she gave Maggie a small, encouraging nod.  
  
Swallowing past the lump in her throat as the brush of Alex’s shoulder against hers broke through the numbness and nausea, Maggie returned the nod. “Right,” she said. She crouched by the body, not touching, not yet, and tried to remember that her job was to get justice for the dead. A last, deep breath steadied her. “Alien, unknown planet of origin. Identifying characteristics…” She rattled through the litany, directed a CSI to take pictures, searched the pockets for an ID, and then moved on to the next body.  
  
Alex stayed close, and Maggie could feel her gaze, watching over her like a guardian angel. It got her through as she knelt by the bodies of aliens, familiar by sight if not by name, and processed the victims. Small touches, the brush of her fingers on Maggie’s arm, Alex’s strong grip as she helped Maggie stand up, sustained Maggie through the worst hour she had ever experienced on the job.  
  
And when Wilkins showed, his loud voice breaking the respectful hush the workers had fallen into, Alex straightened and squared up on him like she was in a boxing ring, and her glare sent him scurrying back behind the tape. Maggie’s lips quirked when she saw him cower behind a co-worker, wishing this was a time and place to enjoy the sight.  
  
Maggie straightened and rolled her shoulders as she surveyed the room. Just the bar was left, and Maggie braced herself. She had cultivated the bartenders, Stu, M’gann, Darla…  
  
“Do you want me to…?” Alex’s voice was only for her, as was the soft touch on her back, and Maggie only hoped that a small part of the enormity of her gratitude was communicated by the thankful glance she shot the woman at her side. It was selfish; Alex’s skills were undoubtedly being wasted here at the scene, but Maggie couldn’t imagine how she would be holding it together without her.  
  
“I’m okay,” she whispered as she stepped around the end of the bar. Maggie felt guilty at the relief flooding through her to see the body of one of the newer bartenders, one she hadn’t gotten to know very well. They cleared the bar and then entered the kitchen, which was mercifully free of bodies.  
  
Shut off from prying eyes, Alex wasted no time in setting the clipboard aside and wrapping Maggie in a tight hug. Maggie clung to her, Alex’s lean body solid and warm and alive, and she had never been more grateful than in that moment. They had shared a few strained and awkward pool nights as they struggled to forge a friendship, but Alex showing up here was proof their bond was strong. The loss, their loss, threatened to overwhelm Maggie again as she realized all the moments she and Alex had both shared in this space, all the ways their friendship had been strengthened and tested.  
  
As if she knew the dark place Maggie’s mind had gone, Alex began to rub soft circles on her back, the touch soothing as Maggie’s body began to shake again. Maggie took a shuddering breath, and Alex’s arm tightened around her shoulders, and she wished she had the words to express how much this meant to her, how much she had needed Alex’s strength today.  
  
Alex knew her, like no one else, and she always showed up when Maggie needed her, without question, without reservation. For the first time in hours, Maggie relaxed as she breathed in the familiar scent of Alex’s shampoo, the light tang of mint helping to ease the horrors of the last hour. “Thank you,” she breathed against Alex’s shoulder, her words muffled.  
  
“Anytime.”  
  
As much as she wanted to stay in the protective comfort of Alex’s arms forever, Maggie was afraid she would start sobbing if she let any more of her guard down, and she still had a job to do. Reluctantly, her grip on the other woman loosened, and she eased back.  
  
Alex’s eyes searched hers, as if to satisfy herself that Maggie was okay, before she swept a stray strand of hair that had escaped from her clumsy pony tail back behind Maggie’s ear. The touch, a simple, soft brush of her fingers over Maggie’s skin, was intimate and caring in a way that Maggie hadn’t experienced in a long time.  
  
Slowly, Alex slid her arm from around Maggie’s shoulders and stepped back, and Maggie resisted the urge to pull Alex in for another hug. “Thanks,” she said again. “I… don’t know what I would have done…”  
  
Alex shook her head, blowing off the gratitude, and Maggie stopped trying, knowing it would just make Alex uncomfortable. “Well, as much as I appreciate it, we’re almost done here, and the DEO probably needs their best scientist in the lab right now.”  
  
A small, pleased smile graced Alex’s lips, but she shook her head again. “It’s fine. I called in a replacement.”  
  
Maggie scoffed. “Nobody can replace you. We need the best working on figuring out this bioweapon.”  
  
“And you do, but that’s not me.” Maggie opened her mouth to protest, knowing Alex’s habit of downplaying her contributions, but Alex continued before she could speak. “My mom was in town, and she has a lot of years on me studying xenobiology. She’s the best,” Alex said with a hint of pride in her voice.  
  
“Well, the second best, then,” Maggie insisted.  
  
“I was needed here.” Alex’s serious tone and meaningful look nearly caused Maggie to crumble again. Maggie wasn’t sure how she got so lucky, but she knew she never wanted to experience being shut out of Alex’s life.  
  
“Are you, are you heading back to the DEO?”  
  
“I thought I would stay. Help…” Alex gestured toward the outer room, where Maggie knew the CSIs would start to clear bodies away soon. “I… someone… I want to make sure they are treated… with respect.” A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “And I can take tissue samples and report on anything that might help us find out what this is or who did it.”  
  
If Maggie hadn’t already been falling hard for this woman in front of her, she was pretty sure the quiet compassion in Alex’s soft voice would have done the trick. “I think… they would appreciate that,” Maggie whispered, and Alex nodded, her fingers drifting down Maggie’s arm one last time in a gentle caress before she stepped around Maggie and headed into the bar.  
  
This time, it was Maggie’s turn to trail after Alex, carrying a small kit and camera as Alex donned exam gloves and helped the medical examiners and crime techs bag bodies. Maggie had waved off Alex’s suggestion that she should go back to the precinct, needing, almost as much as Alex, to see these final steps through. They still made a good team, Maggie mused, as Alex held out her hand and Maggie knew without words she wanted the camera this time and a swab that time. It took longer the second time through, but it was easier, as some of the horror receded, leaving sadness in its wake.  
  
Finally, the last van left for the morgue, and Alex carefully repacked her kit and slid it into a padded bag. Maggie lingered, watching her, before walking her out to her bike. The late afternoon sun slanted in between the buildings, surprising Maggie. She must have lost track of the hours as she had watched Alex work.  
  
Maggie took a deep calming breath, letting something that felt like peace settle into her chest. She was going to mourn this for a long time, she knew, the lost friends and acquaintances, the loss of the safe haven and sense of security, but she could at least breathe and focus past the horror, focus on her job and getting justice for the victims.  
  
Much of that was because of the woman leaning against her motorcycle, arms folded across her chest, watching her quietly. “Thanks. I couldn’t have gotten through that without you,” Maggie said, meaning every word.  
  
Alex shrugged like it was no big deal, and Maggie stepped closer, her fingers ghosting down the sleeve of Alex’s leather jacket. “I… I really needed that hug,” she confessed, emotion choking her words. She needed Alex to understand what this day meant to her, what it meant for someone to be there for her.  
  
“It wasn’t just for you,” Alex answered softly, “but I’m glad it helped. If… if you need to talk, give me a call, ok?”  
  
“I will,” Maggie promised, the knowledge that she had Alex in her life giving her a small part of her sense of security back. She clung to that feeling as Alex started her bike and drove off.


End file.
